Lamentationes 4
1 [Aleph Quomodo obscuratum est aurum, mutatus est color optimus! dispersi sunt lapides sanctuarii in capite omnium platearum!
How gold has tarnished! Even pure gold has lost its shine! Jewels from the Temple have been scattered on every street corner.
2 Beth Filii Sion inclyti, et amicti auro primo: quomodo reputati sunt in vasa testea, opus manuum figuli!
Look at how the precious people of Zion, worth their weight in gold, are now valued like cheap clay jars made by a potter!
3 Ghimel Sed et lamiæ nudaverunt mammam, lactaverunt catulos suos: filia populi mei crudelis quasi struthio in deserto.
Even jackals nurse their young at their breasts, but the women of my people have become cruel, like an ostrich in the desert.
4 Daleth Adhæsit lingua lactentis ad palatum ejus in siti; parvuli petierunt panem, et non erat qui frangeret eis.
The nursing babies are so thirsty that their tongues stick to the roof of their mouths. Little children beg for food, but nobody gives them anything.
5 He Qui vescebantur voluptuose, interierunt in viis; qui nutriebantur in croceis, amplexati sunt stercora.
Those who used to eat gourmet food now die starving in the streets. Those who dressed in fine clothes from their childhood now live in heaps of rubbish.
6 Vau Et major effecta est iniquitas filiæ populi mei peccato Sodomorum, quæ subversa est in momento, et non ceperunt in ea manus.
Jerusalem's punishment is worse than sinful Sodom's, which was destroyed in a brief moment, without the help of human hands.
7 Zain Candidiores Nazaræi ejus nive, nitidiores lacte, rubicundiores ebore antiquo, sapphiro pulchriores.
Her leaders were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were a healthier red than coral, and they shone like lapis lazuli.
8 Heth Denigrata est super carbones facies eorum et non sunt cogniti in plateis; adhæsit cutis eorum ossibus: aruit, et facta est quasi lignum.
But now they look blacker than soot; no one recognizes them in the street. Their skin has shrunk to their bones and is as dry as wood.
9 Teth Melius fuit occisis gladio quam interfectis fame, quoniam isti extabuerunt consumpti a sterilitate terræ.
Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who slowly waste away in agony because the fields produce no crops.
10 Jod Manus mulierum misericordium coxerunt filios suos; facti sunt cibus earum in contritione filiæ populi mei.
The hands of loving women have cooked their own children to eat during the destruction of Jerusalem.
11 Caph Complevit Dominus furorem suum, effudit iram indignationis suæ: et succendit ignem in Sion, et devoravit fundamenta ejus.
The Lord has given full expression to his anger. He has poured out his fury. He has started a fire in Zion, and it has burned down her very foundations.
12 Lamed Non crediderunt reges terræ, et universi habitatores orbis, quoniam ingrederetur hostis et inimicus per portas Jerusalem.
No king on earth—in fact nobody in all the world—thought that an enemy or attacker could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Mem Propter peccata prophetarum ejus, et iniquitates sacerdotum ejus, qui effuderunt in medio ejus sanguinem justorum.
But this happened because of the sins of her prophets and the wickedness of her priests, who shed the blood of the innocent right there in the city.
14 Nun Erraverunt cæci in plateis, polluti sunt in sanguine; cumque non possent, tenuerunt lacinias suas.
They wandered like blind men through the streets, made unclean by this blood, so no one would touch their clothes.
15 Samech Recedite polluti, clamaverunt eis; recedite, abite, nolite tangere: jurgati quippe sunt, et commoti dixerunt inter gentes: Non addet ultra ut habitet in eis.
“Go away! You're unclean!” people would shout at them, “Go away, go away! Don't touch us!” So they ran away and wandered from country to country, but the people there told them, “You can't stay here!”
16 Phe Facies Domini divisit eos, non addet ut respiciat eos; facies sacerdotum non erubuerunt, neque senum miserti sunt.
The Lord himself has scattered them; he doesn't bother with them anymore. Nobody respects the priests, and nobody admires the leaders.
17 Ain Cum adhuc subsisteremus, defecerunt oculi nostri ad auxilium nostrum vanum; cum respiceremus attenti ad gentem quæ salvare non poterat.
We wore out our eyes pointlessly looking for help the whole time; we watched from our towers for a nation to come that couldn't save us.
18 Sade Lubricaverunt vestigia nostra in itinere platearum nostrarum; appropinquavit finis noster, completi sunt dies nostri, quia venit finis noster.
The enemy tracked our every movement so we couldn't walk through our streets. Our end approached. Our time was up because our end had come.
19 Coph Velociores fuerunt persecutores nostri aquilis cæli; super montes persecuti sunt nos, in deserto insidiati sunt nobis.
Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky. They chased us across the mountains and ambushed us in the desert.
20 Res Spiritus oris nostri, christus Dominus, captus est in peccatis nostris, cui diximus: In umbra tua vivemus in gentibus.
The king, the Lord's anointed, our country's “life-breath,” was trapped and captured by them. We had said about him, “Under his protection we will live among the nations.”
21 Sin Gaude et lætare, filia Edom, quæ habitas in terra Hus! ad te quoque perveniet calix: inebriaberis, atque nudaberis.
Celebrate and be happy while you can, people of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz, because this cup will be passed to you too. You will get drunk and strip yourself naked.
22 Thau Completa est iniquitas tua, filia Sion: non addet ultra ut transmigret te. Visitavit iniquitatem tuam, filia Edom; discooperuit peccata tua.]
People of Zion, your punishment is coming to an end—he won't continue your exile for long. But he is going to punish your sins, people of Edom; he will reveal your sins.
